The world changes and paradigms shift—that’s an inevitable part of life. In her second column for BOH, designer and retail entrepreneur Michele Varian explores the strengths (and the challenges) of old and new ways of thinking about retail.

In her first column for BOH, designer and retail entrepreneur Michele Varian debunks what you think is impacting brick and mortar retail—and highlights what’s truly driving the radical changes retailers are seeing and feeling today.

Interior designers play a critical role in the home furnishings supply chain, but they aren’t leveraging their buying power. The result is a lot of opportunity squandered—and money left on the table. Maury Riad weighs in on how, with small changes to their business model, design professionals can revolutionize the industry.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned thus far—in life, but particularly in business—is that it is OK to say, "I'm not sure.” In fact, it is one of the most powerful phrases in a leader’s vocabulary, and saying it aloud without fear or reservation is often the key to building a community that will support an entrepreneur in invaluable and unexpected ways.

With the wave of recent changes at major publishing houses, the shift in print editorial coverage and the rise of Instagram, the world I started my PR career in looks nothing like the one I work in today. So how do we reconcile with what we have in front of us, and where do we go from here?